I just marvel at the sight of witnessing an Inauguration Day on television.  Actually being within miles of the actual ceremony must be exhilarating.  The pomp and circumstance of the changing of power from one administration to another is just inspiring.  Millions of people gathered at the Mall facing the Capitol Building (I heard an estimated report that there was 1 port-a-potty for every 400 people), a chilly day indeed unless you are wearing layers upon layers of clothing.  The appearance of the three living past Commanders-in-Chief as well as their seconds in command preceding the oath is yet another traditional element of the passing of the torch.  Of course, there was a small snafu involved in the ceremony, it was a moment or two behind.  Is it in the 20th Amendment that the oath must be administered at noon?.  It does state that the President’s and Vice-President’s tenures ends at 12PM on January 20th.

Poor President Bush was mocked so heavily by David Letterman (among other talk show hosts) in what seemed like nightly installments of Great Moments in Presidential Speeches.  Mr. Letterman may well have his first moment for President Obama even before he was even sworn in.  The President-elect rushed over the Chief Justice in the recitation.  I believe that this inadvertently caused Justice Roberts to slightly flub the second line of the oath.  Probably the excitement of the moment.

I was impressed with the history making address of the new leader of our country.  He pulled no punches and made it blunt that there is work to be done in the U.S. as well as abroad and that it would not be easy days ahead but necessary.  I think the moment was made more profound when he alluded to the fact that 40 years ago, his family and others like him could not enter certain restaurants and be served;  now he is now the leader of that country.  A change has indeed come.  Let us hope that the next four years are filled with a new spirit and new prosperity.  I just hope that the president and his mother-in-law are on good terms.  Of course, the White House is a big place.

Yes, our president-elect is a self-proclaimed comic book aficionado.  Mr. Obama is such a fan of the Amazing Spider-Man that he is being featured on the cover of an upcoming issue as well as a story within its pages.  This is not the first time that comics have met the real world.  Many heroes took part in stories following the events of September 11, 2001 especially the web-slinger since his home turf is in fact Queens, New York.  Presidents are not new to comic book pages, either.

• President John F. Kennedy was seen in the pages of Action Comics #309 which was published months after the assassination.
• President Clinton and Hillary were part of the World Without a Superman
  in the pages of Man of Steel.

• President Ronald Reagan (or some artist’s rendering of him) was seen in the ground-breaking series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

Yes, sometimes the worlds of fantasy and reality do merge.

I took the tv away from the kids today (not that they watch it that much anyway) so I can watch the events in Illinois unfold as their governor Rod Blagojevich is arrested on corruption charges.  No surprise there, just an interesting story being followed by a former resident of that state.  In fact, we left Illinois for good in 2003 just months after Blago assumed office, which was mostly a coincidence, but I would say that his being elected to the governor’s office did add to the feeling we had that the state was falling apart.  It was that obvious from the beginning that Blago was no good.  Over the years, I’ve been following news stories in Illinois by reading dailyherald.com, an online version of a suburban newspaper.  Every time there was anything in the paper related to Blago, there was no shortage of comments from readers about the purported corruption of the governor.  In October of this year, the governor’s approval rating was a measly 4%.  And today, the you-know-what has hit the fan.  The governor of Illinois is in prison – the second gov in a row from that state to serve time, as a matter of fact.  As we speak, err, as you read this, former Illinois Governor George Ryan is probably watching the Blagojevich coverage from the federal prison he currently calls home.  I’m just curious if it makes anyone nervous that our new President-elect is from a state that can’t seem to keep its leaders out of the slammer.  Hopefully, Barack Obama can set a new standard for politicians from Illinois – that would be refreshing.

But in the meantime, watching Blago’s saga unfold is compelling – the reporters on CNN are saying that the breadth of the corruption is unimaginable.  They’re saying Blago engaged in a ‘crime spree’ while in office and the details are troubling – including allegations of $8 million in funding being pulled from a children’s hospital because its CEO did not contribute $50,000 to Blago’s campaign.  And I’m not writing this to pick on Blago or make any sort of political statement – it’s not that I’m the type of person who smiles at the misfortune of others either, but hey, he did this to himself.  I just feel badly for the residents of Illinois who trusted this man to be their leader and their representative, and now they’re forced to watch with the rest of the world while he is exposed for what he truly is, giving their state a horrible reputation in the process.  The main victims in this situation are the Blagojevich family, and it’s sad that Rod’s two young children will probably have to grow up now without a father in their lives.  And unfortunately, Blagojevich is just the latest in a long line of corrupt officials from the Land of Lincoln.  Since the early 1970’s, 3 former Illinois governors have served time in prison, not including Blagojevich who is a current governor.  Here’s to hoping the politicians of Illinois can get their act together amidst their growing tradition of disreputableness.

While listening to the radio this morning and the poll question of the day, I was reminded of my post a few days ago. The question: “Who do you prefer… Billy Joel or Bruce Springsteen?” Myself, I much prefer the Piano Man to the Boss. Joel’s music is so much more melodic and he has crossed over into other genres with his own music. Although it is one of those “jukebox musicals” with little to no plot, Movin’ Out was nominated for a handful of 2003 Tony Awards and won two (one for Mr. Joel’s orchestrations). In 2001, the accomplished musician composed an album of classical piano pieces entitled Fantasies & Delusions. In the end, Springsteen defeated Joel by ONE phone call.

The intriguing thing about all this is that the two performers will be sharing the stage (I’m not sure if it’s for the first time but have seen no evidence to the contrary). However, the ticket will be quite costly. On October 16th, the two will show their support for Barack Obama for his “last event in the Tri-State area before the election.” The concert will be held in the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Tickets for the event start at only $500 for balcony seats. Starting at $2500, you can enjoy “premiere seating”. Or for the paltry sum of $10,000 you can enjoy “lounge seating.” Peanuts, right? Thanks, but I’ll stick to the recordings. Perhaps our friend from Liswathistan will be able to make an appearance.

HELLO EVERY PEOPLE!!!  I a come a to you live from Hamilition, In diana in America country, yes?  On day of Sun, Obamalasa come to vist small town near home of strange person.  A person who a shop at market where strange person work say he a go see Obamalam and got photo with him.  He a eat food, take photography, shake a his hand, and kiss a baby.  Is a dis how people become new owner America country?  Man at markey he  say he could not get to water hole in Hamilition, In diana very easy, but they a get there somehow.  It’s a too bad for Morat… he a not get to Hamiliton, In diana fast enough to see Obamalad.  But he a keep going until he a see him again.  A Happy Day of Labor to a you all.  I a no understand… why you a celebrate work?  A very strange  custome

So, another election year is upon us and guess what…  We’re deciding between a black man and a white woman.  Either decision will result in the potential for “something new” in the Whitehouse.

But you have to ask yourself…  Are they really going to be any different?  After all, WHAT makes these candidates so different from the past presidents?  Well, we’ve already established that…

RACE  &  GENDER

If you could choose two candidates that don’t fit the “presidential mold” then a black man  and a woman are about as different (in appearance) as you can get.  But at the core…  Obama, a straight black man, and Clinton, a gay white woman, think very much the same…  They both think “WHITE MAN”.

Remember, Obama is not black.  He is 50% black.  So, if 50% black makes him black then 50% white makes him white.  So, if you’re saying he is a “black man” running for president.  You can use the exact same logic to say he is a “white man” running for president.  In fact, Obama’s main influence growing up was his WHITE mother.  He was raised in a white household by a white parent.

Remember, Hillary is not a lady.  Sure, she is genetically a female but she thinks male.  She has male drive, male goals, and if you watch her on the stump — male emotion.  In fact, rumors that Hillary Clinton is gay have been circulating long beofre her presidential campaign.  See here and here and here.

• Obama, LOOKS black but thinks WHITE; looks MALE and thinks MALE.

• Clinton LOOKS white and thinks WHITE; looks FEMALE but thinks MALE.

So they both think WHITE MALE even though neither of them have that appearance.

The difference IS only skin deep.  So, as we try to pretend that this is a new breakthrough in the Whitehouse and that this is not just another election of a WHITE MALE we should be ashamed of ourselves.  Yes, it is politics as usual in Washington.